SWTOR - Mistletoe
by nobarawolfgirl
Summary: Lord Seyje and Malavai Quinn enjoy a little Christmas break on Alderaan :) (with the rest of the crew tagging along of course)


The chambers of House Thul rang with the sound of cheerful laughter. The air was bright and merry as all conflicts of the crown faded into the background with the holiday season. Normally, Sith didn't attend any kind of celebrations, but Darth Seyje thought her and her crew deserved a break from defending the Empire; they had earned it. Alderaan remained a neutral planet torn by its own civil affairs, but there were supporters of the Empire here and its mixed climate seemed fitting for the day.

The slender female Sith stood alone, leaning against a doorway with a glass of red wine in her hand, away from the large crowds and chatter. It wasn't that she didn't like people – she just didn't like drunk people, and House Thul was full of them. Rambunctious laughter came from across the room as someone who had tried to chug an entire bottle of eggnog choked and spit it out all over the floor. Seyje rolled her eyes and let her gaze wander around the room, observing the different decorations scattered across the hall and balcony above her. Fir wreaths were wrapped around the dark, oak columns on the first floor and strung across the railings on the balcony above her; red bows and holly berries were attached to add some color to the plain green plants. Red, blue, and white strings of lights were hung across every available outcrop that wasn't already holding up a photo or candle. Glancing up, Seyje wondered for a moment just how many foolish people had fallen over the second-floor railing to their deaths. With the number of Thul's she saw stumbling around looking for more drinks, it wouldn't surprise her if it had happened on more than one occasion.

The Sith took a sip of her wine, and recoiled with disgust at how sour it was. How could these people stand to drink this stuff? It tasted terrible. She placed it on a ledge next to the doorway for one of the servants to retrieve later. Her eyes were drawn to a particular group of Thul men gathered around the bar counter. Taking a closer look, Seyje realized Jaesa was standing right in the middle of them as drunk as ever. She shook her head, chuckling to herself. Her apprentice was always throwing herself at any man that would have her, no matter what rank, and these ridiculous Thul's were no exception. Glancing around the room, she saw Vette with a group of children, which did not surprise her in the least; Vette got along very well with youngsters since she was just as energetic as they were. Pierce and Broonmark stood among a crowd of still somewhat sober officers. They looked a little odd among all the matching Thul robes, but it didn't seem to bother anyone. Seyje studied the room again and frowned to herself. Where was Quinn? She straightened up and took a few steps forward to glance around the column in front of her, and didn't see him anywhere. The Captain was nowhere to be found. Seyje wondered if he perhaps went outside for some fresh air. She couldn't blame him if he did; the hall smelled terrible, like a mix between cinnamon candles, burnt pine, and regurgitated alcohol.

Hold on, _burnt_ pine?

A wisp of black smoke floated past her eye. Seyje turned around and saw some fool had been carrying a candle around and lit a wreath on fire. At first, no one paid any attention to the crackling flames. That is, until the group of men around Jaesa threw their drinks towards the wall to solve the problem. With a roaring whoosh, the flames grew higher, sending plumes of black smoke towards the second floor ceiling. The wreath fell onto the floor, setting the carpet alight. Only then did people start screaming and running for the door. Seyje huffed with annoyance and strode towards the fire.

_Morons._

With a swish of her hand, the Sith used the Force to extinguish the flames. She paused a moment to be certain the fire was out. The room grew silent and Seyje felt all eyes fall on her. She was not happy. These people would've burned down the entire building if she hadn't been here.

"Be more careful, you reckless idiots," Seyje snapped angrily at the crowd that had formed.

Turning on her heels, the Sith strutted out of the room, glaring at anyone who dared start towards her. It only took her a few seconds to walk out the front doors into the frosty night air. She inhaled deeply to relax herself, closing her eyes. The chilly air froze the inside of her mouth and sent icy tingles down her throat to her lungs. As she opened her eyes and exhaled, her breath formed white clouds of vapor in front of her mouth.

"I presume the party took a wrong turn, my lord," a familiar voice said.

Seyje turned her head to the right, and couldn't stop the smile that spread across her lips. A young Captain with raven black hair, shining blue eyes, and quirky smile approached her. Without a doubt, Quinn was the most handsome man she had ever met, as well as the smartest. His constant professionalism and militaristic approach to situations didn't bother her as much as it used to. Much like she was more relaxed around him, he had grown quiet comfortable around her. The captain stood next to Seyje with his hands behind his back – as usual.

"Indeed, Quinn. Those Thul idiots lit a wreath on fire," she said with a light chuckle.

He raised an inquisitive eyebrow at her, cocking his head an inch to the right.

"How did they manage that, my lord?"

Seyje sighed with exasperation, throwing her hands in the air.

"I have no idea."

Quinn suddenly burst out laughing, which made the Sith jump a little as the sound caught her totally off-guard. This was an unusual break in his walls. She looked at him curiously, shifting her weight to one leg and crossing her arms across her chest.

"Apologies my lord, but – haha – your reaction to the – ahum – current situation was not at all what I was expecting," Quinn said as he regained control of himself.

"And what makes you say that?" she asked wryly, raising an eyebrow at him.

"It was simply your approach, my lord. Your usual frustration with such scenarios was replaced with a much more careless response," Quinn explained.

Seyje refrained from rolling her eyes. His language was always so much more colorful than it needed to be, but maybe that was why he was always so interesting to talk to.

"Quinn, would you like to take a walk with me?" she asked. "I need to get away from these Thul's for a while."

The question seemed to take him by surprise.

"Is that a suggestion or an order, my lord?" he asked with a confused tone.

Seyje glanced at him with amusement.

"It's whatever you want it to be Quinn," she said in a teasing voice.

She enjoyed messing with his brain with comments like that. Seyje had made it obvious a long time ago that she was interested in him, but had never quite been able to figure out what he thought.

Glancing his way, Seyje thought she saw Quinn's cheeks flush a slightly redder color, but it was hard to tell in the nighttime atmosphere. He seemed conflicted about how he was supposed to respond to her, but Seyje didn't give him any more time to think about it and started to walk away. After a few seconds of hearing only her own boots clacking on the marble ground, she heard quick footsteps behind her as Quinn soon appeared on her left side. He was definitely blushing, and the fact that he had chosen to come with her brought a smile to the Sith's face. She had begun to wonder if he would even come with her at all.

As they walked towards the stairway, Seyje noticed how extravagant the palace was. The outside of the Thul stronghold looked very different than the inside. While the inside was lavishly decorated with oak, tamarind, and mahogany, the outside was built with varieties of marble, limestone, and quartz. At first glance, everything outside looked gray, but after a closer look, the Sith saw tiny rainbows spun through the crevices of the rocks. She loved how they made everything seem to sparkle in the moonlight as her and Quinn walked side by side, absentmindedly running her hand along the thick cold railings and breathing in the winter air.

The finely polished stones and evenly placed marble walkways gave the palace a very organized feel, something that the Captain was drawn towards. However, Quinn found he was unable to fully enjoy the richness of the palace; he could not stop himself from repeatedly glancing at the woman at his side. How in the world did he ever manage to convince her to let him join her crew so many months ago on Balmorra? He did not even come close to matching her fighting abilities, much less her power. And yet despite his efforts to blend in with the others, Seyje seemed to have put him on a pedestal in her mind and treated him a little differently than the rest of the crew.

Turning his gaze to her once more, Quinn wondered what she was thinking about. He quickly looked away so she wouldn't catch him staring and let his mind wander. Quinn would have to stay on his toes now that he was alone with her. If there was one thing about her that always caught him off-guard, it was her aggressive flirting. While she was a very beautiful woman, Quinn had to constantly remind himself that she was his superior and that there were boundaries that shouldn't be crossed. However, he couldn't help but feel a rush of exhilaration whenever he ignored those boundaries altogether around her.

Once they had gone down the stairs and reached the entryway between the palace and the Alderaan wilderness, Seyje noticed that somehow the colors within the marble archways had been reflected onto the snow by the moonlight and formed one long arching rainbow. A gasp escaped her lips as she stared in awe. Quinn's head snapped up at the sound. Within seconds, he had analyzed every aspect of her expression and was slightly confused. Instead of her sapphire eyes narrowing, they had widened, and instead of scowling, she was almost smiling. Status: they weren't in any danger. But then why had she gasped?

"Are you alright, my lord?" Quinn asked with concern.

Seyje glanced at him, and her heart skipped a beat as their eyes locked. He hadn't noticed the rainbow in the snow yet.

"Quinn...look," she murmured softly, gesturing towards the colorful tundra.

He arched his head to glance around her shoulders. At first, he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but after a closer look he realized what she had noticed. Quinn chuckled quietly to himself.

"A rainbow, my lord?" he asked with amusement.

This was a little out of the ordinary for her. First of all, Seyje was a Sith lord. Second of all, she hardly seemed like the type to find pleasure in an array of fake colors.

Seyje frowned at him.

"Make fun all you like. I think it's beautiful," she said, turning her nose up at him like she was about to start pouting.

"I wholeheartedly agreed with you, my lord. But a few colors in the snow could not possibly compare with you," Quinn said.

The Sith turned back around and stared at him with surprise, completely forgetting about the rainbow. Did he really mean that? He had complimented her before, but never so openly. Seyje looked over his face carefully. It didn't look like he was lying…maybe he really was interested in her.

Quinn's heart was racing. If he was going to act, he had to do it now. His stomach dropped to his feet as he slowly reached out for her hand. Hopefully she wouldn't slap him away. The instant he made contact, Seyje gasped and looked down at his outstretched arm, her eyes widening. Quinn had never felt so nervous in his life. Normally, he was able to hold his composure around other women, but it was different with Seyje. One glance from her was enough to make his knees buckle underneath him. He suddenly realized his hand had been shaking as Seyje clasped her hand around his. Quinn looked up into her stunning sapphire blue eyes and saw she was smiling at him. He felt a wave of relief wash over him as he realized he wasn't going to be rejected. A frosty breeze blew across the tundra, and the tinkling of bells was heard. Quinn looked around. They sounded close, but he didn't see anything.

"Quinn," Seyje said as she nudged his arm.

He turned his head to her, and she pointed up at the archway over their heads. Looking up, Quinn saw a batch of thin, oval shaped leaves tied together with a red bow and strung to the archway. Tiny, white berries were sticking out among the little branches. At the very top, two small silver bells were tied into the ribbon.

"Mistletoe," Seyje murmured.

Quinn's face felt hot as he suddenly realized they were standing right underneath it. As much as he would love to finally kiss the Sith standing before him, it was not his choice to make. He cleared his throat to catch her attention, glancing at her nervously. Seyje turned her gaze back down to him, and smiled warmly. She took a step towards Quinn, and before he fully realized what was happening, he felt her warm lips against his. It was wonderful. With a mixture of the chilly night air and the butterflies in his stomach, Quinn found it hard to breathe as he reveled in the kiss. Carefully, oh so carefully, he brushed his hand against Seyje's soft skin and let his fingers trail to the back of her neck, keeping their lips connected. She breathed in sharply and put her hands on the front of Quinn's coat, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. His head was reeling now and he shivered, but not from the wintery air. How were his legs still holding him up? He could've stood there kissing Seyje all night long, but no sooner had he thought it than did she pull away. Quinn almost frowned as his lips grew cold, but the smirk on her face made him chuckle. Oh, she was good at this – always knew when to stop at the point that he would be left wanting more.

"Merry Christmas, Quinn," she said, smiling brightly at him.

She clasped his hand and interlocked their fingers together. A broad smile spread across the captain's face as he held her hand a little tighter that earlier.

"Merry Christmas, my lord," he replied.

She pulled him forward and started walking back towards the palace hall. While the night may not have started out as she had planned, it had ended in her favor after all.


End file.
